The Car
by ameswilf
Summary: After Terminus Daryl and the group find the car that took Beth. One-shot. Includes a creepy Eugene and a jealous/protective Daryl


The group had survived Terminus and they were traveling in a large van that they had stolen from the Termites. Abraham was driving and Daryl was seated directly behind him. They had decided to head towards D.C. Daryl and Maggie had tried to argue about looking for Beth, but since Daryl had no leads about where to start they were overruled. This pissed Daryl off as he sat in the car stewing, but even he had to admit that he had no idea where to begin the search and she could be anywhere. As he sat grumbling in his seat he saw it. He saw the car with the cross in the window. It was on the side of the road and looked abandoned – as they drove by the car Daryl felt as though they were moving in slow motion and he felt all the air leave his body. He felt like he was in a fog until something clicked and he snapped out of it.

"Stop the van!" He shouted. "Stop it now!"

The passengers were all confused – unsure why the rough man wanted to pull over. Daryl kept insisting that they pull over.

"No! We have wasted enough damn time – we are not stopping until we get to D.C.! So sit down and shut the hell up." Growled Abraham.

Daryl would not take no for an answer as he pulled out the handgun from his bag and pointed it at the army man's temple. "Stop this vehicle right now, before I blow your fucking head off," his voice was laced with determination and anger.

The rest of the group were stunned and were unsure how to proceed. Rick was seated next to Abraham but was looking directly at Daryl. He saw the look in his friend's eyes and he knew he meant business. "Abraham, I think you better do what the man says." He said quietly but clearly.

Abraham stopped the van gruffly and began to say "What the hell is your…"

But Daryl was long gone; he flew out of the van and ran down the road towards the abandoned vehicle. By the time the rest of the group joined him he had already smashed the windows and pried open the trunk and was looking for clues. They all just stared at him while he was mumbling to himself the word, _nothing_ – over and over again. Until he got very quiet as he was lying on the back seat of the car looking under the front passenger seat. He slowly sat up and stared at a shiny item being held between his forefinger and thumb. It was a little heart charm – hers.

Maggie was the first one to speak. "Is that … Beth's?" she whispered. All eyes moved from Daryl to Maggie and back to Daryl. Maggie and Daryl had already spoken about Beth, he had told her how she was taken and Maggie had seen the pain and guilt in his face. She knew that he blamed himself.

"Yea. It must have broke when they put her in the car." His voice cracked as he thought of her being tossed around like garbage. "This is the car that took her." He declared, looking only at Maggie. He then got up started looking around the vehicle for more clues or a path to follow. He found some footprints, stuffed the charm in his pocket, looked at Maggie and said, "c'mon."

The group all followed. This was different then when they were arguing about looking for Beth earlier. They now had a clue, a direction, and hope. Abraham was still angry about the change in plans. He started making little comments to Rosita about how they had to get back on the road, that it was a waste of time looking for the girl and next time Daryl pointed a gun at him he better use it or lose his hand in the process.

"I don't know Abe, maybe we should keep looking. She is Maggie's sister after all." Spoke up Eugene and Maggie smiled. She had always thought that Eugene was weird but that he had a good heart underneath it all. "I mean, is Maggie the hot one?"

The whole group stopped in their tracks.

"What did you say?" asked Daryl, anger very present in his voice.

"Is Maggie the hot one?" The whole group just stared at him, so he continued. "In my experience when it comes to sisters, there is always a hot one and … a less hot one. If Maggie isn't the hot one, then we definitely need to find this Beth because that is something I need to see."

"What the hell does it matter what she looks like? She's family and we ain't leaving her behind." Grumbled Daryl.

"It was just a question. Is no one going to answer it?" he asked again.

"Nope – from where I am standing Maggie is not the hot one," piped up Carl. He had always had a crush on Beth and he also thought that if he was able to convince Eugene to search, then Eugene could convince Abraham and then they would hopefully find Beth faster.

"Hey!" snapped Maggie. Carl just shrugged in her direction. "Just my opinion is all," he said.

"Would all of you just shut up? This ain't helping. Keep your eyes open and pay attention. I think she is giving us a trail." Daryl declared angrily as he looked at the ground, focusing on the search. He then suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Eugene right in the eye. "When we find her, you BEST stay the hell away from her if you know what's good for you. You hear me?" He growled. Eugene nodded, trying to look away from the angry bowman.

Daryl continued tracking as the group followed. Carl and Eugene were walking side-by-side. Eugene quietly bent down to be level with the boy and whispered, "I think Daryl agrees with you". The two quietly chuckled.


End file.
